Ushuaia

Ushuaia has been voted "City Name That Sounds Most Like It Comes From The Bible, Without Actually Doing So" every year since Christians stumbled on it while trying to get around Cape Horn in the mid sixteenth century.  It was also a conveniently remote penal work camp for Argentina for many years, and these days survives mostly as a tourist port.  While it is not strictly "The Southermost City In the World", as it claims, it is certainly the closest port to the Antarctic Penninsula. It is also a ski resort, which caught me by surprise.  I'm not sure we have any sea level ski resorts in North America.  Perhaps in Alaska...

The approach to Ushuaia airport brings you in between a few of these peaks.

I hate it when they come right out and state that bribing customs is illegal.  In English, too.  Curiously enough, there was no corresponding sign en Espanol.

A ski chalet at sea level.  Very odd feeling.

All of the TV satellite dishes are double size, and aimed practically parallel to the ground.  Hitting a satellite orbiting the equator is an iffy business from this far south.

That is one steep slide.

These aren't a local species, but they were pretty much the only flowers that truly flourished in the local area.

This is a stream onto a local beach.  The beach is actually about three inches of loose rock on top of solid granite.  You could touch the granite in the stream.

One of the horrors of being on a guided tour -- the local "cultural" stage show.

Far more interesting than the stage show, this is an industrial strength space heater, designed to heat a fair sized barn.  It sounded like a jet engine starting up.